Free Eye on Orion by Laura D. Bastian Page A

sound calm about it, but it came out more petulant than intended.
    â€œI am sorry about all the secrets,” Amira said, her tears falling slowly down her cheeks, glistening with the setting sunlight. “I wish I could tell you everything, but I do not think I should. You would not be safe.”
    â€œWhatever you say.” I knew I sounded angry. I closed my eyes for a few moments and took some deep relaxing breaths like I'd watched my mom do with her yoga video. Well, here was another big thing to add to my list of weirdness in my neighbors. Healing. He had healed me, plain and simple. They could communicate telepathically, and Jai could heal by touch.
    â€œCan I ask a question?” I said after a while.
    â€œOkay?” Jai hesitated.
    â€œYou can’t fly, can you?” I said it as a joke, but watched them closely.
    He laughed out loud, and Amira looked from him to me and then smiled when she saw my smile as well.
    â€œNo. We’ve only flown in a plane like anyone else here could do,” Amira said with a wave of her hand.
    Anyone here, huh? Where were they from? I tried my best to make light of the situation, but I was burning with curiosity. That would be the burn to heal I thought, and he could do it with the truth. Their secrets bothered me, but I wanted the evening to be fun and not uncomfortable. I picked up my soda — very carefully this time — got my plate back from where Jai had set it, and ate my cold hot dog. It wasn’t as good as it would have been if I'd eaten it hot. I frowned at it.
    â€œCan you pass me some of the chips?” I asked.
    Amira handed me the bag, more than half-empty. I looked at Jai, and he shook his head. He hadn’t eaten any yet either. I took a handful and put them on my plate then passed the bag to Jai.
    â€œThanks for saving us some,” he teased Amira.
    â€œI could not help myself. It is such a fun food. All salty and crunchy and delicious.” She licked her lips.
    â€œYou are becoming a real junk-food lover, you know. First all that pizza, now this bag of chips,” Jai said.
    â€œWait ‘til she’s tried the s’mores I’ve got planned,” I said. “I can’t wait to see how many she can put away.”
    She smiled at us like she enjoyed the teasing. “Bring it forward.”
    â€œI think you mean bring it on , not forward.” It must be hard to learn all the subtleties of a new language.
    We tried to talk about things while avoiding what was on everyone’s mind. I kept rubbing my palm with my fingers, amazed it didn't hurt anymore. Once the fire burned down to the embers, I went to the jeep and grabbed the bag with the marshmallows, graham crackers, and chocolate bars. I picked up the lantern as an afterthought.
    I put a marshmallow on the stick and set up my little assembly line. “Do you want to try roasting your own, or do you want to let the professional do it?”
    â€œBy all means, go for it. We will watch in awe and learn from the master,” Jai said, leaning back.
    I nodded and put another marshmallow on a second stick then on the third so I would be ready when each was done. I wondered briefly if I would be able to keep up with Amira’s appetite once she tasted the first one.
    After cooking them to perfection, I quickly put the marshmallow on the graham and the chocolate, then pressed the top cracker on and slid the roasting stick out. I admired the squishy white cream peeking out from the crackers sandwiching it. I always wanted to lick the roasting stick to get the melted marshmallow when I pulled it off each time, but knew burning my tongue would be incredibly painful. I rubbed my palm again. Having someone like Jai around could open up a whole new range of possibilities though. Not daring to push my luck, I set it down on a plate so the sticky end wouldn’t get all over everything.
    I handed the s'more to Amira. Putting the other marshmallow over the